Description
Book SynopsisBased on 40 years' interviewing experience, this book illustrates the variety of religious, spiritual and other beliefs held by older people. It provides models of research procedure, especially in the context of bereavement. Participants include not only British Christians, but also Muslims, Humanists and witnesses of the Soviet persecution of religion. The author argues that both welfare professionals and gerontologists need to pay far more consideration to belief as a constituent of well-being in later life. The book looks to the future and increasing diversity of choice in matters of belief among Britain and Europe's older citizens as a consequence of immigration and globalisation.
Trade Review"A bold and imaginative volume from the leading scholar in the field. The study provides rich and wide-ranging material on the role of religious and other beliefs in the lives of older people. An outstanding contribution." Chris Phillipson, Professor of Applied Social Studies and Social Gerontology, Keele University
Table of ContentsAgeing and belief; Religion, a constant friend to ageing?; Listening to and expressing belief in later life; Ageing and faith: trajectories across the lifespan; Faith in crisis: facing death; Coping in later life without faith; Religious culture and age: European variation in Christian practice; Religious difference and age: The growing presence of the other great faiths; The role of religious ministry in an ageing society; Ageing and the future of belief.
